Banking

A unique model in Europe

It’s no secret to anyone: all financial institutions are facing a crisis and private banks are no exception to the rule. And yet, even if the time for rejoicing is still far off, Etienne Verwilghen, Chairman of the Board of KBL European Private Bankers, thinks that our network has decisive advantages which will help us get through these difficult times. Here he explains what lies behind his thinking

Britain’s Northern Rock shrinks losses in 2009

Nationalised mortgage lender Northern Rock’s headline losses shrank in 2009, helped by rising net interest income and lower loan losses in the second half, though it said loan writedowns would stay high in 2010. The bank, nationalised two years ago after it became the first major British victim of the credit crunch, said its underlying […]

Greece won’t need aid, cenbank chief tells paper

Greece will not need foreign help to deal with its debt problems, central bank governor George Provopoulos said in a German newspaper interview. Provopoulos told the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) that solid demand for a 10-year, $6.8bn bond Greece sold on March 4 showed Athens could raise the funds it needs on financial markets. The […]

BMW lays off UK pension liabilities with Deutsche Bank

German car maker BMW has offloaded £3bn ($4.6bn) of longevity risk from its UK pension scheme to Deutsche Bank, in the largest longevity insurance transaction conducted to date

Bank of Ireland moves fiscal year, no trading update

Bank of Ireland said it was changing its fiscal year-end to December 31 from end-March, to move in line with most major European banks, and would not issue an expected trading statement this week. Bank of Ireland, which is a quarter-owned by the state, said it would next announce results in late March for the […]

UK’s FSA boss Sants quits in unexpected move

Britain’s top financial regulator has announced he plans to step down, surprising the markets and casting doubt over the future of the Financial Services Authority and broader banking reform. Britain’s opposition Conservative Party, tipped in the polls to win the next election expected in May, has said it wants to abolish the FSA and hand […]

Political risk becomes key market volatility driver

From southern Europe’s debt crisis to US banking reform, politics has emerged as a driver of volatility in Western markets this year in a way normally more associated with emerging economies

Greedy traders unblameable

Traders did not fuel the downturn as some try to establish. This would mean that risk management lies in individuals and not in institutions, by Enrique Núñez-Escudero, Shirebrook Commodities

Hester: RBS recovery

Royal Bank of Scotland’s recovery is well ahead of plan, its chief executive said recently, adding the part-nationalised bank could see political risks increasing ahead of a British election this year

Makuch appoints new c.bank governor

Slovak president Ivan Gasparovic appointed Jozef Makuch as new central bank governor recently, a position that gives him a seat on the European Central Bank’s governing council. Makuch, 56, who previously served as a central bank board member and the head of the country’s Financial Markets Authority, replaces Ivan Sramko, who turned down an offer […]

RBS sells non-core fund ops to Aberdeen

Royal Bank of Scotland said it agreed to sell non-core asset management businesses to fund firm Aberdeen as it attempts to recover from a bruising financial crisis. Aberdeen Asset Management will pay £84.7m to acquire fund of hedge fund and multi-management businesses from the 84 percent state-owned bank. “This transaction represents another step in our […]

George Pauget

Those that think the working life of a CEO consists of only first-class travel and exuberant lunch meetings have never stepped into the shoes of George Pauget

Brady Dougan

In choosing Brady Dougan to succeed Oswald Gruebel in its top job, Credit Suisse was certainly taking a calculated risk

Hector Sants

The UK’s ‘light touch’ financial regulatory framework has clearly failed to bear up against the global credit crisis. Hector Sants is the man now charged with ditching ‘light touch’ regulations

CEE banks fight contamination

Despite the emergency support, funded in part by the World Bank, Central and Easter European banks are suffering from a case of contamination. We investigate what’s in store through 2009/2010

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